UN special representative says Mali rebels may be heading to Libya

The UN's special representative for Libya told the Security Council France's offensive in Mali could drive Islamic rebels into Libya.

A French army officer stand guard on January 16, 2013 while the Malian president welcomes service at the military airbase in Bamako. France has deployed 700 troops in and around Paris, Interior Minister Manuel Valls revealed Tuesday in the latest indicator of mounting concern over potential reprisals for military intervention in Mali. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

The UN's special representative for Libya told the Security Council that France's offensive in Mali could drive Islamic rebels into Libya.

The Associated Press reported Tarek Mitri said "the opposition of armed radical groups to the military intervention in Mali may exacerbate the situation (in Libya) given ideological and/or ethnic affiliations as well as porous borders in Libya."